People watching is always something that I enjoy doing. And besides the mall, the best place to do this is in an airport. Sometimes when I fly, I almost want to have long lay overs so that I can just sit and spend some quality time people watching.
I also like to do my part in providing my part of the entertainment. On my recent trip, I packed my suitcase so that I could take it on the plane with me. This is a first for me. Usually, I take my whole closet with me so I have to check my bag. But this time, I had a certain time line that I was going to stick to and waiting for baggage just didn’t fit into it.
Well, since I am not used to pulling a bag behind me, I knocked things over, my bag hit people and I got it stuck on an escalator. George Clooney, in the movie “Up in the Air” makes pulling a suitcase look so easy but really its not. It takes skill, a lot of skill. Who knew.
Anyway, this post did have a point. Oh yes, people watching. People watching can usually provide a good laugh but it also can showcase people at their worst.
Case in point, stuck up-snotty-I’m too good for you-business woman. I had the pleasure of watching her little fit on my plane from Detroit to Baltimore.
On this flight, I got stuck sitting in the very last row on the plane. Me and this other woman were packed like sardines into our seats. I really didn’t care about my seat location, I had a book and time to read it and that was all that mattered too me.
I opened my book and began to read when I heard some hushed yelled coming from behind me in the area were the flight attendants sit.
“I am NOT going to sit there” a voice hissed. “I will not be made to sit there.”
“I am sorry ma’am but she can put the arm rest down beside her and that is the policy of the air line. She did not need to buy two seats, per policy she does fit” another voice stated.
I looked around to see what they were talking about. And two rows ahead of me, I saw a very large African American woman sitting in the isle seat.
“I paid for a whole seat. Not half a seat. I demand that I be moved to a different seat” the voice hissed once again but this time you could just feel the ‘I’m to good for this’ pouring out of her.
“I am sorry,” the flight attendant said, “but this is a full flight. There is no where else to seat you. She fits in that seat per policy.”
“So you are telling me that I am suppose to sit next to that for the whole flight? That is not right and I will not do it.” The woman said no longer keeping her voice down.
As the conversation took place behind me, I couldn’t help but watch the African American woman in front of me. You could tell that she was trying to make herself as small as she could. She just hung her head and closed her eyes, just waiting and willing the scene to be over.
My heart broke for her. This was no way to treat another person. It wasn’t like this woman was sick or had a disease. She wasn’t some misshapen horrible creature. No. All she was, was overweight.
In all my interactions with people, I have never heard a person talk about another person with such disdain and hatred as that ‘business woman’ had for this woman.
I felt like something needed to be done. Someone needed to put an end to this. This just had to stop. This was just wrong.
I was just about ready to open my mouth and let the stuck up-snotty-I’m too good for you-business woman have my seat when a man in the row next to mine got up from his seat and said, “Here. Let her have my seat. I will sit there.”
I could see the flight attendant sigh with relief as she patted him on the shoulder in a sign of appreciation when the business woman spoke up, “Oh, no he doesn’t” she seethed. “I will not be made to look like the bad person here. I am not a bad person. No person should be made to sit next to that. You sir, you sit down. I will sit there but this airline will reimburse me. I will get something for my troubles. You will make this happen”and she jabbed her finger at the flight attendant as she walked towards the seat.
I could barely look at this woman as she walked by me to take the seat. I was disgusted by her and her actions. Frankly, I think that she should have been asked to leave the air plane. How dare she make this woman feel like dirt. She truly sickened me.
And then the unthinkable happened. After about two minutes of stuck up-snotty-I’m too good for you-business woman being in the seat, a flight attendant came to talk to her. She tried to whisper the words ever so quietly but when the stuck up-snotty-I’m too good for you-business woman got up, we all knew.
Stuck up-snotty-I’m too good for you-business woman had been given another seat.
This was just icing on the cake for me. I know its not much but I will never, never fly with this airline again. They allowed this woman to treat another human so badly that I was almost ashamed to be a human being myself.
Behavior like this should not be accepted, let alone rewarded. It should be condemned and stopped.
As we were leaving the plane, stuck up-snotty-I’m too good for you-business woman was perched in her new seat waiting to get back into her old seat to get her bag. She tried to smile politely as people passed her but her smile looked more like a smirk to me.
And I just couldn’t resist. I glared at her with all the evilness I had in me and said, “Bitch” as I walked by.
I know it was wrong but it just had to be said. That smirk had to wiped off her face.
Tomorrow, I promise to share more about my trip and all the
things that I learned at Bloggy Boot Camp in Baltimore.
Related posts:
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh her behaviour was atrocious and she most certainly should have been booted off the plane by security.
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Wait. Did that really happen?! I just can’t fathom how people can be so terrible to others sometimes.
What airline? Take it viral. Rat ‘em out. I would.
(But, then again, I’m spiteful and vindictive like that.)
.-= Cindy S (Serial Swooper)´s last blog ..Anything Done at Maximum Speed is Apparently Great Fun. Who Knew? =-.
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Wow. What a horrible, horrible person. The least she deserved was your comment. How awful! I think I would have been either in total shock or I would have let loose on her.
I hope your trip improved when you got to Baltimore!!
.-= CynthiaK´s last blog ..Music makes the world go ‘round. Or at least the merry-go-round… =-.
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WOW ,WOW ,WOW! That is UNREAL. It’s all so awful and makes me sick just reading. I think I would have lost it on her. People are unbelievable.
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I cannot BELIEVE that she felt free to act that way about another human being! And then when another passenger offered his seat, to make a FURTHER scene about being the ‘bad person here’???? Un-freakin-believable.
That is when I have to resort to my faith in karma/destiny/whathaveyou, and that eventually she WILL get hers. I HAVE TO BELIEVE THIS.
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wait, WHAT? She felt free to treat another human being this way?
Sorry, but when I see behavior like that I just HAVE to go back to my faith in karma/destiny/Laws of the Universe and believe that someday she WILL get her reward for treating people in that manner. Unreal.
(the most galling part is her refusal to ‘be the bad person here’ when someone presented her with a solution!!! evil evil evil Beyotch.)
.-= Kirsten´s last blog ..Heaven in a bag =-.
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[and sorry, I'm not a comment freak. Just haven't had enough coffee this a.m. ]
.-= Kirsten´s last blog ..Heaven in a bag =-.
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Jen Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 8:26 am
I loved all your responses. It nice to know that this makes other people just as upset as it does me. I really could not believe that I was watching this happen. I kept waitng for cameras to come or people to say, April Fools!
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What a horrible rude person and good on you for hissing at her. And what a lovely man to offer – I am sure if he got the chance he would have said some nice words to the overweight woman – he sounds sweet.
I do think that the poor air hostess was in such a bad position – nothing satisfied this horrible woman and I think it is ok if the moved her just to the the drama over with and stop the humiliation- IF they then reimbursed the overweight woman or did something for her. Now that would work for me! Maybe they did that.
.-= cat@juggling act´s last blog ..Sky high! =-.
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HAH! Go you for telling her what you thought. Great story, and I completely agree – the woman was clearly just out to get something for nothing and make trouble or she would have let the man switch with her. I wish they could have kicked her off the plane.
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I WISH they kicked her off. I am not exactly small (I can certainly fit in a plane seat though) and know that I would’ve wanted to die had I been that poor woman. How dare that business lady make such a scene and believe so much that she was better than anyone else?! I am so angry at this – its atrocious!
.-= Beth P´s last blog ..Nineteen Months! =-.
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Name the airline Jen, please please please name the airline! I don’t fly much anymore, but I do end up scheduling flights for people and I can do my best to not direct business their way. When I worked for customer service for an airline, I made SURE the sqeaky wheel did NOT get greased and those who were deserving got a free upgrade.
I so believe in karma and that wicked woman will get what’s coming to her. God will see to it.
.-= Wendy´s last blog ..Beatle-Mania =-.
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Jen Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Alright, I will name the air line. I flew with Delta but after this never, ever again even if it costs more money.
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Good for you for saying something! Blatant rudeness like that is just out of hand. I only wish half the people on the plane had stood up and told her what they thought of her. I just want to cry when I think about that poor women she humiliated.
.-= Emily´s last blog ..PSF and simple lessons =-.
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I applaud you for having any restraint because I would have been ALL OVER that bitch. Cause that’s what she is. Even if she felt uncomfortable about sitting there she could have handled it a better way. Gah! I hate when people act like there poo doesn’t stink.
.-= Brandy´s last blog ..The perfect rainy day… =-.
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I am SOOOO glad you called her a bitch. It was the least you could do.
.-= Gail´s last blog ..Working on It =-.
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You know, you almost have to feel sorry for someone who is so consumed with hate. I mean, what kind of crappy life must she lead to be that mean to someone else?
I agree with you. The airline should have required her presence to be removed and the victim should have been reimbursed for her trouble!
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Jen Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
You have it right. They totally should have supported the victim, because that is what she was.
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Unbelievable. I believe in the karma response. People like this just don’t have a happy life. Or they won’t in the long run. Not when they treat human beings like that. Crazy.
I can’t wait to hear about your Bloggy Boot Camp experience!
Lee
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So glad you called her that! I don’t usually promote name calling, but she needed and deserved that. That just makes me so mad, espeically the part the rest of the conversation after the man offered to sit there.. I cannot believe her!! ARgggghhh I am boiling now.
So glad you said something
.-= Emmy´s last blog ..The Pressure Builds =-.
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I am amazed that a person could be so insensitive to other peoples feelings like that, but I see it everyday. Especially on the reality shows my teenage daughter watches…it is almost the norm to be a beyotch. I am glad you said what you said.
.-= Jaime´s last blog ..My princess =-.
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I’m just shaking my head in disgust. Some people are just MEAN and that hurts my heart. I hope they moved her just so that the woman she humiliated didn’t have to be next to her anymore. Although if I were the flight attendant I would have made her sit in the loo!! ;0
.-= Elaine´s last blog ..Happy {Laundry} List =-.
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that’s just horrifying…. you were too kind to call her just a bitch… I can think of many expletives, all starting with F, that I would have used on her… and loudly.
.-= cristin´s last blog ..Dude, How Do You Say "Give Me My Fucking Pen Back" in Cape Verdean Creole? =-.
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Dateline used to do a series called, “What Would You Do…” I don’t know if they still do it, but they would hire actors to behave in the extreme in certain situations. One was a family at a restaurant and the kids were running all over the place, throwing food etc. And people were just staring. The idea of course is to see what people would do in a certain situation. This story made me think of it. And like you, I can’t believe any human could be so horrible! You let her off easy. Wouldn’t you have loved to stick your foot out as she walked past you just to see fall flat on her ugly stuck up bitch face! Yikes, did I just say that???
.-= Lourie´s last blog ..Dancing With The Stars =-.
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Good for you! That is an awful story. Simply, I just don’t understand a lot of people with who we share this world.
.-= Susan´s last blog ..It’s Monday =-.
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Wow, how awful. Shame on that woman! What flew up her butt? Seriously. We ask our children to have manners, so why don’t adults have any? Ugh.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Things That Make Me Go Huh =-.
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Seriously?! Some people. I like the idea of this woman being made to sit in the loo! That’s where she belongs, HA!
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..Table Topics Tuesday: save it for a rainy day =-.
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She totally deserved that. Much worse really.
Good for you.
.-= K´s last blog ..RTT – Boobies, Bras and Visitors Edition =-.
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how rude. I could see if honestly, she didn’t have room…but seriously, planes are not limos. You are not going to have room. No matter who is sitting next to you. And you shouldn’t treat people like that; everyone deserves respect from you.
I know I shouldn’t be but I’m proud of you Jen. I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to say anything. And the flight attendant should have kicked her off for disrupting everything.
.-= S Club Mama´s last blog ..left field =-.
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I don’t think I have ever heard anything so horrible! To call another person “that” as if she was less that human is just despicable! So, did it wipe the smirk off of her face when you called her a bitch?
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Happy 3rd Birthday! =-.
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Jen Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
To be honest, I don’t remember. It really is not like me to call someone a name like that even if I am really, really angry. What I am trying to say, is that it took a lot of courage for me to even say the word out loud so I couldn’t look at her as I said it. I looked at her arm.
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She deserved it. Talking about the woman using the term “that” is unforgivable. She should be ashamed of herself. I hope she does not have children that she is instilling this behavior in. Inappropriate…
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Oh my… that poor, poor woman. People can be truly beastly.
If there’s any reason to be truly thankful that bitchy lady got to move, it’s that the poor woman next to the original seat didn’t have to feel snot-face’s presence the entire flight.
*sigh*
I hope she wasn’t from Baltimore.
.-= LooneyJen´s last blog ..Photo Class – Episode 3! =-.
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People are so outrageous. That is just terrible! And how dare they award her with a new seat. AWFUL. I am disgusted.
.-= Laura´s last blog ..Spring Cleaning! =-.
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All you did was call her a bitch? Oh sista – I would have had a bout of restless leg syndrome right about the time she passed by and oops! should have watched where you were walking there miss. Guess it was a good thing I wasn’t on the plane, huh? Karma will bite that POS in the ass one day. Hopefully soon.
Following you now too!
.-= Leiah´s last blog ..True Story Tuesday ~ 03/09/10 =-.
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Man! I felt sick just READING that. Good for you, calling her out. And I’m not surprised that it was Delta. I already refuse to fly them because of how my little sister and another child with Type1 diabetes were treated by flight attendants on a flight a few years ago.
.-= Maya´s last blog ..Screening a New Pediatrician =-.
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GOOD FOR YOU! The whole story just makes me feel sick to my stomach! How horrible HORRIBLE to treat someone like that! Oh I am so proud of you for calling it like you saw it and sharing it with her!!!
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That is just plain awful. If she had a problem with the situation, she should have quietly taken the flight attendant aside and addressed it privately. There was no call to belittle that poor woman in that way. I like to believe that karma will get her. Nasty people don’t win. They may have small victories, but in the end, they lose.
So glad you made the flight, though!
.-= Carabee´s last blog ..Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned at Boot Camp =-.
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Jen Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
I sure hope so. I sure hope that some day she gets what coming to her.
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I would have said the same thing to her.
That makes me sooo mad!
.-= Connie @ Young and Relentless´s last blog ..The Winners…. =-.
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Oh God. This just made me so mad reading this. What a grade A bitch. I hope she gets whats coming to her because karma is a BITCH too!
.-= Jenners´s last blog ..Post-It Note Tuesday: Body Pain and A Note to Seinfeld =-.
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wow….what nerve! I hope Karma comes back and bites her in the ass!!
.-= Barbara Manatee´s last blog ..Future Olypmic Competitor? =-.
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Wow. Did you hear about what happened to Kevin Smith on Southwest last month?? There was a really interesting article online in reaction/response to it. Basically talking about does profit give you the right to discriminate.
Anyway…I loved that you voiced your opinion. Love it. I think it gave her something to think about on her way to baggage claim…
.-= Kat´s last blog ..Folderol =-.
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I totally applaud you…I mean, no one was willing to put her in her place so I’m glad you said what you did. I really wish they had booted her from the flight…I feel terrible for the woman at the center of the discussion, especially after being referred to as “that”. How awful for her!
.-= Helene´s last blog ..Hubby, please excuse me from housework today… =-.
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That just blows my mind! What really gets me is that she was even directing other people not to sit next to “that”. What kind of SICK person is this?? Karma is a b****, just like her. I’ll bet you weren’t the only one to give it to her.
.-= Nicki´s last blog ..Catching Up Is Hard To Do =-.
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I hope Karma comes back and kicks that woman’s ass. I wish someone would’ve tripped her.
Ugh! This makes me sick.
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Good for you for saying what you did. I think I may have had to stop and expand upon my feelings but then I probably would have ended up getting arrested. Sometimes short and sweet is the best.
.-= Sunday Stilwell´s last blog ..They’re like little pillows of chocolate chip heroin =-.
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Oh my word, I feel ANGRY at that woman and then I want to cry for the woman who was treated so badly.
That is just awful. I don’t get how people can be so mean….
.-= Summer´s last blog ..have you ever tried vaseline? =-.
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I was blown away by this story when you told Michelle and I about it that night on the way to Pier 5 and I am still totally infuriated at this woman I have never even seen a week later. I’m glad you said something to her.
.-= Catherine @ Evolving Mommy´s last blog ..Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken =-.
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Man, I’m impressed by your restraint. I think I would have gone off on her when she refused to be the “bad person.” Standing up and going, “Hey bitch, you’re ACTING like one!” would maybe not have been the mature solution, but…sometimes..it’s what’s called for.
See, I feel for the flight attendant. They do not have the authority to kick someone off a flight for being rude (usually) and could have gotten in big trouble or lost their job over doing so..especially if this woman was so vocal. You’d like to think the airline would back their employee, but I kinda doubt it. Plus I’m guessing this was kind of fast and unlike anything they’d seen before, guessing they were pretty dumbfounded! Yes, it would have been nice if she was kicked off…but if you rule that out (assume no one there had the authority to do so) I would have reseated the b****. Yes, she gets the satisfaction of a new seat. But then the poor African-American woman doesn’t have to sit next to her the whole flight. I’d care much more about making the African-American woman as comfortable as possible than about being vindictive towards the b****.
And then maybe call the baggage handlers and ask them to “lose” her bag…
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wow, JEN, i can’t even imagine how such an innocent person can be treated so atrociously; one can only witness this kind of monstrous behavior on tv. i would pay BIG to see the expression on that lady’s face after what you said to her!
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